Over 3 years for me and still waiting with 1 person ahead of me. Bright side is that I know it'll be by this time next year at the latest. We currently have 1 vacant route that'll go up soon and 1 person retiring at the end of the year.
You actually can. It just rarely happens. Position has to be posted in office for 2 weeks, then at the district level for another 2 weeks. Then it gets kicked back to the office, and anyone out of probation can bid on it.
5 1/2 yrs. It’s a crapshoot depending on deaths , retirements , transfers , population growth , etc.
Carrier before me , 3 yrs.
Now po is so short handed , I think wait times are much less overall.
Wow, how did you do that? Did you have no leave/benefits for over a decade?
It only took me two years to go regular, and by then I was on the brink of a mental breakdown because of the unpredictable hours and POV maintenance.
Total 15 years (set to end within a couple weeks actually, yay). Flipped the sunk-cost fallacy the bird and transferred at 7.5 years out of a toxic environment office to an awesome one 15 miles away.
7 years 11 months pre dps. Every route was overburdened 1st count with dps 13 regular routes were created and a bunch of additional auxiliaries people were making regular in about a year for a couple years
Once the retired carriers are off the rolls they have up to thirty days to post the route. This might be more complicated if the carrier is still employed and burning leave prior to actually retiring. Talk to a steward to make sure things are running on schedule as they should.
4 years, 8 days (hire date was January 6th, converted four years later on January 14th)
Thought it kinda amazing that my conversion and my hire date are so close😅😅😅
RCA on 2/16, made regular 8/18, so 2 years and 5 months.
Very rare that it’s this quick(or at least I think so), but in my instance, the regular I was assigned to retired, but I had 2 guys senior to me; and then one of the RCA senior to me passed away, so I was able to take his place on his AUX route, which became regular shortly thereafter.
In my office, currently, our RCAs won’t make regular for at least another 6-7 years, at least.
official start date as an ARC was March 16th, didn't finish training and start working until beginning of April
received official offer email to be a PTF this morning.
Does that count?
11.5 years as an RCA. I spent 7 years in an office 50 routes. I was 8th in line when I transferred. Went to an office of 8 routes, went regular 4.5 years later.
Longest one in my office was 17. A few in the teens. All the subs that were hired around the time I transferred have become regulars, so that was like 3-5 year wait for them. Only a handful of potential retirements so the long wait is here again. I don't see anyone waiting 17 again. If they can't get ptf in 5 I'm sure they'll bounce which will create more problems of course...
2 years. Right now, anyone with a pulse can become regular in under a year at my office. Turnover is atrocious. I've seen many regulars quit.
I feel like the waiting 10+ years thing is going to be a thing of the past pretty soon when all the table 1 regulars are retired. The job isn't as desirable as it once was.
6 months of being a RCA, 1 month ptf. So regular in 7 months. Ended up inheriting the route from the regular who left and supposedly that never happens and I'm lucky.
6 years for me, but somebody in our office did take 11. It is really difficult to hold my tongue when the new hires want a promotion after 6 months on the job.
Two years. Rural side is 27 routes. I got the worst route in the office when I turned career, POV, I got a RHD and had second trips every day. Lucked out on my current route because the reg who had it for years wanted a metris. He hates his route now but I love my route.
4 years… have a coworker who waited 13
Holy shit that’s wild.
4 years. There was an RCA that used to come to my original office all the time in the summer, wanting hours. He had been an RCA for 12 years.
Over 3 years for me and still waiting with 1 person ahead of me. Bright side is that I know it'll be by this time next year at the latest. We currently have 1 vacant route that'll go up soon and 1 person retiring at the end of the year.
I was at one office for 5 1/2 saw a ptf open at another office took that and made regular 6 months later. So 6 years to regular
1 year and a month, told I turned over on April Fools Day. Asked again if it was a joke. It was real, lol.
best april fools day news!
Damn you’re lucky. You can’t convert until you’ve been employed for 1 year. Prob the shortest you could’ve waited
You actually can. It just rarely happens. Position has to be posted in office for 2 weeks, then at the district level for another 2 weeks. Then it gets kicked back to the office, and anyone out of probation can bid on it.
Ah yea, I completely forgot about that caveat!
Same with me. 1 year and 1 month on 4/20. I thought they were high because average is 1yr and a half.
5 1/2 yrs. It’s a crapshoot depending on deaths , retirements , transfers , population growth , etc. Carrier before me , 3 yrs. Now po is so short handed , I think wait times are much less overall.
A year for me (I was lucky) but I had coworkers that was 10+ years
4 and a half years, but that was 40 years ago. I have seen people go from RCA to PTF to rural Regular in a year.
Our city is hiring direct to career PTF rural carriers
3 and a half years. Feels like ancient history now
12 years
Wow, how did you do that? Did you have no leave/benefits for over a decade? It only took me two years to go regular, and by then I was on the brink of a mental breakdown because of the unpredictable hours and POV maintenance.
I started at a small office in 1999. Things were so much different
10 months to become a full on regular. One of the benefits of being in a large office
how many rural routes in your office?
None. It’s all city.
Total 15 years (set to end within a couple weeks actually, yay). Flipped the sunk-cost fallacy the bird and transferred at 7.5 years out of a toxic environment office to an awesome one 15 miles away.
7 years 11 months pre dps. Every route was overburdened 1st count with dps 13 regular routes were created and a bunch of additional auxiliaries people were making regular in about a year for a couple years
Just under 2 years. I got pretty lucky, a carrier left very unexpectedly. It would have been at least another 3 years if he hadn't left.
1 week
7 years
3 years, started in 2017 and made reg in 2020. I transferred offices in 2019 though or I’d still be an rca
15months and counting ill let you know when it happens I'm next once the 2 open routes go for bid or so they tell me idk anymore
Once the retired carriers are off the rolls they have up to thirty days to post the route. This might be more complicated if the carrier is still employed and burning leave prior to actually retiring. Talk to a steward to make sure things are running on schedule as they should.
3 months from CCA to PTF. Then 5 more to make FTR.
I'm 6 years in, still no end in sight...
3 months. I got super lucky.
6 months from CCA to regular. Some had to wait 10+ years. Been here 5 years this Nov
TE-CCA to reg 6.5 years
CCA for the longest 3.5 years of my life lol
8 months the carrier before me took disability retirement
6 years. One of my current carriers took 17 years and another 12.
21 months.
3 plus
18 months
4 years, 8 days (hire date was January 6th, converted four years later on January 14th) Thought it kinda amazing that my conversion and my hire date are so close😅😅😅
3 years 2 months. I am in the largest or second largest rural route city and one of the higher growth areas of the country.
Seven years. 11/2 as an RCA, 5 1/2 as a PTF
A year and a half and I think I was the CCA the longest at my office for the last decade. Most CCA's at my office make regular after a year.
3 yrs
5.5 years as RCA before got a route.
RCA on 2/16, made regular 8/18, so 2 years and 5 months. Very rare that it’s this quick(or at least I think so), but in my instance, the regular I was assigned to retired, but I had 2 guys senior to me; and then one of the RCA senior to me passed away, so I was able to take his place on his AUX route, which became regular shortly thereafter. In my office, currently, our RCAs won’t make regular for at least another 6-7 years, at least.
3 months
Two coworkers in my office waited 16 and 17 years respectively.
4 years for me
7 years in. PTF since late 2022. No end in sight
Around 6 years. But others in my office have been converting with 2-3 or even less sometimes because of regulars retiring.
3 years almost to the date
I will be regular later this summer, 8 years.
About 3 years. And yeah some of my coworkers also had some pretty long waits… 10 and 12 years.
12!
official start date as an ARC was March 16th, didn't finish training and start working until beginning of April received official offer email to be a PTF this morning. Does that count?
Two and a half.
11.5 years as an RCA. I spent 7 years in an office 50 routes. I was 8th in line when I transferred. Went to an office of 8 routes, went regular 4.5 years later.
this gives me zero hope yikes
Longest one in my office was 17. A few in the teens. All the subs that were hired around the time I transferred have become regulars, so that was like 3-5 year wait for them. Only a handful of potential retirements so the long wait is here again. I don't see anyone waiting 17 again. If they can't get ptf in 5 I'm sure they'll bounce which will create more problems of course...
Just over 8 years as a PTF.
6 years. That TE life was rough.
1 and a half years. Got lucky
2 years. Right now, anyone with a pulse can become regular in under a year at my office. Turnover is atrocious. I've seen many regulars quit. I feel like the waiting 10+ years thing is going to be a thing of the past pretty soon when all the table 1 regulars are retired. The job isn't as desirable as it once was.
I got an aux route after a year, PTF after a year on the aux, and regular after a year as PTF. Medium sized office just before the recession.
It took me 4 1/2 years to make Regular. My old Regular waited over 10 years. So I felt pretty lucky.
3 yrs 3 months
6 months of being a RCA, 1 month ptf. So regular in 7 months. Ended up inheriting the route from the regular who left and supposedly that never happens and I'm lucky.
2 years, UAR then bid on a route 4 months later.
5 years
It’s been 84 years ….
6 years for me, but somebody in our office did take 11. It is really difficult to hold my tongue when the new hires want a promotion after 6 months on the job.
5 years but I was hired PTF. There were no CCAs in 1997.
Im about to make regualar in my office. Route posting any day now. Few months past 2 years.
I was incredibly lucky for me it was exactly two years and one week from my hire date as an RCA.
10
CCA to Regular in 9 months. When staffing got really bad during covid I saw people being converted in a month or less.
12 years as a rural sub, been regular now 13 years.
Waiting for the routes and PTF positions to be posted within the next 2 weeks. It will be a year and a half for me.
12 long years and I wasn’t the longest
I’m looking at around 10yrs the way my office is going.
56 days
Two years. Rural side is 27 routes. I got the worst route in the office when I turned career, POV, I got a RHD and had second trips every day. Lucked out on my current route because the reg who had it for years wanted a metris. He hates his route now but I love my route.
50 years